Choosing which Disney World Park to Visit

Choosing which Disney World Park to visit each day on your vacation can be difficult. Different Disney guests choose which park they will visit each day in different ways. Some will use a plan found in a guide book. Some will base it on Extra Magic Hours. Others will use Touring Plans or another site that gives historical data and helps you choose the lowest crowds. Others will just choose because they don’t know any better. But have you ever considered choosing your park based on the days weather?

If you wake up and it’s a beautiful, sunny, Florida day, I would suggest heading to the Magic Kingdom. The pretty skies and sunny weather will make the outdoor attractions like Astro Orbiter, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad perfect. There are also so many great photo opportunities at the Magic Kingdom, especially with the New Fantasyland opened, where blue skies will make the shot amazing.

If it’s sunny but blazing hot outside, consider heading to Epcot. Most of the attractions are indoors and several are long rides, like Universe of Energy. The World Showcase has plenty of shows, shops and restaurants to duck into if the outdoor temperatures are too high. That way you spend most of your day in the air conditioning!

When the skies are cloudy, go straight to Animal Kingdom. This is a large park with lots of shade already. The animals on Kilimanjaro Safari, Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and Maharajah Jungle Trek are more active when the sun is hidden behind the clouds.

Last, when you wake up to the dreaded rain shower, go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is the smallest of the four parks so there isn’t as much walk time between attractions. Most of the rides and attractions are covered or indoors making it the perfect park for rain.

One thing you need to think about before you let the weather help choose your park is whether or not you have park hopper tickets. If you have dining reservations at one park, but plan to visit another park based on the weather recommendations above, make sure your tickets will allow you to make it to your reservations. Don’t visit Hollywood Studios because it’s raining only to realize you can’t make your Tusker House lunch reservations at Animal Kingdom because you don’t have the park hopper option.

Happy Planning!

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